<26 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER, A+> [Theo and Julia] The next morning, just as the sun was rising, Theo and Julia were woken by Ordus. "You both have a guest."

They rose quickly and followed Ordus to the edge of the Ward runes, where a dark-robed man stood looking at the sunrise.

"You certainly have managed to secure a beautiful home." Lord Ka said. "And you placed the Crystals in a fantastic place. So I am here to uphold my end of the bargain; please hand me the ring."

Theo took the ring from his hand and placed it into Lord Ka's outstretched palm. Lord Ka focused for a moment, and a rush of power flooded into it. "I have left you a choice to make regarding how it will change; choose wisely."

Theo nodded and took the ring, holding it without putting it on. "Thank you, Lord Ka."

The hooded figure nodded. "Now then, I must be on my way. Thank you for your assistance. Best of luck, Lord and Lady Sorrin!"

With a pulse of energy, Lord Ka simply faded from view as if someone had turned him transparent over a second or two. Theo looked down at the ring. "Well, should we see what the choices are?"

Julia nodded, and Theo slipped the ring on, and a blue box appeared in front of him.

Ring of Eternal Mourning Choice Lord and Lady Sorrin, I truly do wish you the best of luck. As per our agreement, I have upgraded the ring you won from me. It will have some set bonus, and you may choose one of three ways for its query function to work. May we meet again when you are more powerful. Set Effects: STR DEX CON INT CHA META 0 0 0 +1 +1 +1 Mana Locked: The Abilities of this item are bound to the mana level of the User. More abilities may unlock as the User grows more powerful.

Passive: Immunity to effects that would cause you to lose heart. Passive: Binds to first wearer, Unbinds on death of wearer. Bound to Theo Sorrin. This ring may never be removed after equipping; death causes the ring to appear to the next oldest member of the Family Sorrin.

Active: Once per Day, ask your ancestors a question. They may or may not provide an answer. [Choice Pending]

INDUCTION TOUCHED: The System has modified this Item. Destined Users will receive minimal answers from the System as they have no System-bound ancestors to query. [Choice Pending]

Pick one of the following: Option 1: This is the current functionality of the ring. You will query the system directly. Retains 67% fail rate. Option 2: INDUCTION TOUCHED would be removed, and the ring's abilities would be capped. The following Active would be added: Active: Query all who dwell in the Well of Souls once per month. Guarantee a 100% correct and helpful answer to your question. Option 3: INDUCTION TOUCHED would be removed, and the ring's abilities would be capped; all stats would gain an additional +1 from the ring. The following Active would be added: Active: Query all who dwell in the Well of Souls once per week. One Soul may choose to speak with you for a limited time. The helpfulness of the Soul is not guaranteed. User safety is assured.

"Ohh, wow," Theo said, finishing reading the options out loud. "I think we have to go for either option two or option three."

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Julia was nodding as she thought. "So either a guaranteed question once per month. Or, once a week, we can ask a question, and a Soul may speak with us for a bit. It doesn't say that the Soul will only answer one question."

"That is fair; if we get a Soul that is chatty, they may be able to answer many questions." Theo said, "It also doesn't appear to be a fixed time. We may get a longer time based on something."

Theo thought for a moment. "What do you think?"

"I think that this is your ring. It expressly says that you are bound to it, so the final choice is yours. But I would probably pick option two." Julia said, "I know it's only once a month, but it seems better to get a guaranteed answer than to maybe not get an answer."

Theo nodded, considering what she had said, and then he re-read all the options, muttering to himself. "One question a month, maybe you ask a multipart question that gives you assistance on large-scale projects. Or do I count on our ability to get the Soul to answer our questions..."

"I think..." Theo said, coming to a conclusion, "I think that I will choose option three."

Julia nodded. "Alright, sounds like a plan."

Theo selected the third option, and a pulse of energy flowed through the ring. Then he equipped the ring and felt a sliver of power stretch into the very center of his being. The ring contracted around his finger almost painfully for a moment, then conformed to a perfect size. He could spin the ring around his finger, but when he tried to pull it off, it was as if he was trying to slip his skin off.

Theo shrugged and Identified the ring.

Identification of Target Subject: Ring of Eternal Mourning Level: 50 Mana Density: ??? Class: N/A Special: Mana Locked, Bound Item Species: N/A Other: INDUCTION TOUCHED Description A ring worn for a time by a God of Death. Allows the wearer to beseech the Well of Souls

Mana Locked: The Abilities of this item are bound to the mana level of the User. More abilities may unlock as the User grows more powerful.

Passive: Immunity to effects that would cause you to lose heart. Passive: Bound to Theo Sorrin. This ring may never be removed after equipping; death causes the ring to appear in the next oldest member of Family Sorrin.

Active: Query all who dwell in the Well of Souls once per week. One Soul may choose to speak with you for a limited time. The helpfulness of the Soul is not guaranteed. User safety is assured.

+1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 CON, +2 INT, +2 CHA, +2 META

Value: 02P_37G_09S_12C Status: Sacred

Theo read the new description to Julia. "Alright, now then, what to do?"

"Well, let's go check on Hestia; she was offline, I guess," Julia said. Theo nodded, and they walked back to the Plinth. When they got there, they both placed a hand on the core.

"Hello, Theo. Hello Julia. Congratulations on the Family establishment." Hestia's voice greeted them.

"Hello, Hestia!" Julia responded, "We were unable to speak to you during the Primordial Flight and wanted to check with you that all was well."

"I am fine," Hestia said, "The process of establishing an interdimensional path for people to be moved along for access to the Mirror Deep Retreat was quite intensive and required almost all of my focus as well as the focus of Laurel. Additionally, please note that you may enter the Retreat at any time by simply asking me. As can anyone who has access to me."

"That is good to know." Theo said. "Now, before we get to work, is there anything you need from us?"

"You have rewards that can be claimed if you choose to do so. Rewards can be deferred if you wish." Hestia said.

"I think we will wait; once we get a plan going, we can deal with them and the gifts that we received." Julia said, and Theo nodded.

"Then there is nothing that I need; thank you for asking." Hestia said, so Theo and Julia removed their hands from the core.

Next, Theo and Julia found themselves sharing breakfast with the dwarves and Ordus. Ordus was planning, "...so if it is all right with you, I will continue to help the Dwarves and work towards completing the basement."

Theo nodded, "Do you need me to continue hauling blocks out?"

Kreldar shook his head, "I don't think so; we have enough room that we should be able to get a good deal of work done 'fore we need to remove the blocks."

"Alright, I guess that I will work on getting some planting beds started, maybe even do some raised beds," Theo said.

"Before you do that," Julia said, "let's open the gifts we got and get everything put away," Julia said.

Theo nodded. "That's a good idea. Alright, Julia and I will be by the camp. Holler if you need us."

Ordus nodded, and Theo and Julia rose to head to the camp.

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